


Is There No Cure?

by my_dear_holmes



Series: My Merlin one-shots [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur discusses his feelings, Arthur is in love, Helpful Gaius, M/M, Oblivious Arthur, Pre-Slash, gaius is a father figure, i didnt really know how else to tag this soooo, kind of merlin/arthur??, oh what a poor child, the moment we have all been waiting for, they dont even interact in this fic but i guess you could count it as preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_dear_holmes/pseuds/my_dear_holmes
Summary: Arthur goes to Gaius because he thinks he's sick. Turns out the ""illness"" is not what he first thought...
Relationships: Gaius & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: My Merlin one-shots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096334
Kudos: 27





	Is There No Cure?

Gaius stood hunched over the table, his hand steady. It had taken years to train himself not to shake, as a single missed drop could mean his tonic was ruined. He measured out the pale yellow essence of Acacia and poured it into the light blue mixture, turning it a watery green colour. Now came the difficult bit. He must add the perfect amount of lavender for the tonic. Any more and it would be useless. He gently began to tilt the bottle containing the essence of lavender. Just a bit more...

A knock at the door startled him, causing his hand to slip and a large amount of purple liquid to splash into the tonic. With a loud sigh, he poured away the ruined mixture and said, "Come in."

In walked Prince Arthur, and the physician got to his feet. "I'm afraid Merlin isn't here, Sire," Gaius said, assuming that was who Arthur was looking for. “He is out picking herbs for me.” Of course, Merlin was doing nothing of the sort.

"Actually Gaius,” Arthur said, looking around the chambers awkwardly, “It was you who I was looking for."

"Are you ill? Please, sit down." There was a fever going round in Camelot, one he hoped he had confined to a few houses in the lower town, and thought he had cured. If it had spread to the castle, he might have to rethink his treatment.

"I'm not ill exactly, but I have been having some strange symptoms for a while now."

"Go on."

"I often feel I can’t think straight, like there is a fog in my mind that I can't shift. It slows me down, making me stumble over my words and such." Gaius made an encouraging noise. "I also have hot flushes, my face goes red like a fever. My hands shake occasionally too."

"Anything else," Gaius prompted with raised eyebrows.

"I have this churning in my stomach, like something is trying to escape."

"Interesting," Gaius said, considering Arthur carefully. "And how long have you been experiencing these symptoms?"

"A few months maybe? They started off barely noticeable, just every now and again, and much less severe. Now they're extremely frequent and much more noticeable."

"And you never remember having these symptoms before the last few months?" He shook his head. "Well, Arthur, one of the reasons this is so interesting is that I once experienced this as well. In fact, I hope that everyone in Camelot experiences such feelings."

Arthur looked confused at this statement. "Is there no cure?"

"Certainly not. Arthur, if I am not mistaken, you are in love."

Arthur started at Gaius in disbelief. His mouth was slightly open, his facial expressions paused. After a long pause he eventually said, "There's no way I could be in love. I would _know_ if I was."

"Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. There have been no visits from neighbouring Princesses in months. So how could I be in love?”

Just because your father wants you to marry a princess, doesn’t mean that's who you will love. Life doesn’t work that way, Arthur. I want you to think for a minute, is there anyone who is constantly around you when you experience these symptoms?"

“Well I suppose there is…” His face then turned to stone. "Gaius," he said slowly, "The only person I'm around that much is... Merlin? You think I'm in love Merlin?"

"It is only my opinion, Sire. No physician is perfect and - if I am perfectly honest - love isn’t my strong suit. Maybe just taking note of who you catch looking at a little too long, who you want to be around all the time. That sort of thing."

Arthur gave a stiff nod before rising from his seat and heading towards the door. Before he left, he turned round to face Gaius. “If you tell _anyone_ about what we have discussed today, _especially_ Merlin or my father, I will-”

“I assure you Sire, my lips are sealed.”

Arthur left without another word, shutting the door with slightly more force than was necessary. Gaius stood where he was for a moment before returning to his seat, shaking his head. He grabbed a beaker and began setting out the ingredient for his second batch of tonic. _What a pair of idiots,_ he thought. He hoped the two would hurry up and realise each other's feelings. It really would spare a lot of awkward moments on both their parts.

**Author's Note:**

> for some reason this tiny story took me ages to write. but i got there eventually and that's the main thing


End file.
